Barefoot Running Advice » Surfaces & Terrain

My painful struggle with pebbles

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  1. araun
    Member

    Now I have managed 8 trainings with short (about 1Mile) BF-sections (minimalshoes in my hands, great advice Michael!). I'm very happy that after some really painful days my feet are getting more resistant. The part on asphalt is no problem, but I aim to achieve running on forest tracks.

    Today I was able to run some minutes on a track covered with very small broken stones without "ouch!" But the tracks that are very soft natural duff with numerous pebbles are so brutal!! The stones seem to penetrate deeply into the tissue.

    I wonder if one day I'll be able to run this tracks with a smile on my face? I keep at it!

    Posted 2 months ago #

  2. pythelico
    Member

    I struggle with the same thing. I try periodically running alongside the pavement on my normal route where it's dirt/stones. I can't go very far before I have to hop back on the pavement.

    Of course, I'm still not consistent on the pavement either. I've been taking 2 days between runs and decided to go with only one day for my feet to recover last night. I only made it .72 miles before I had to put shoes back on.

    It's only been about a month for me since starting running barefoot consistently so, I'm giving it time and taking it slow. If after 3 months I'm still not progressing, then I'll re-evaluate my training methods. However, I suspect I'll see improvement before then. Michael mentions in the book and I've noticed in my own efforts that feet don't have a constant progression from tender to road-ready. Some days I feel great, others they seem almost back to square one. But, overall, I'm seeing progress. The tough part is staying motivated through the days where it feels like you're moving backwards.

    Kelly

    Posted 2 months ago #

  3. araun
    Member

    Hello Kelly

    Yes, you're absolutely right, it's tough staying motivated, today I stopped my BF running, lucky having my shoes with me! The 3 month term is also my time I'll keep up. Afterwards I'll decide if I use again my soft trainers that accompanied me the last years...

    Expecting your happy and bad experiences.

    Araun

    Posted 2 months ago #

  4. pythelico
    Member

    Glad to hear you're going to stick with it for 3 months Araun. As I'm finding out first-hand, it's not something you can do overnight. It makes sense because our feet didn't get into the condition (or lack of conditioning) that they are in now overnight so, it's reasonable that it will take time to reverse the process.

    I'm looking forward to hearing your experiences.

    Kelly

    Posted 2 months ago #

  5. araun
    Member

    Hello Kelly

    How are your feet and your mood? I have found some new trails in my forest where the lumberjacks didn't do their work. This means the ground is more mossy, grass is sprouting between the pebbles. There are still overall pebbles, but in between are always some yards of recovery for the feet. The grass is also dangerous because you can't see the bigger sharp stones. That means that the soft parts of my feet show some hematomas...I reapt some ticks, but they are easy detectable on my pale legs.

    I'm very happy, that I can now let my shoes at home and run the 2 miles on pavement and the 2 miles on trails without too much pain. It's really exciting and I always await eagerly my next experiment!

    Now I'll repeat my new tour for a longer period,and hope to learn the best form to avoid pain.

    kind regards and happy feet!
    Araun

    Posted 2 months ago #

  6. pythelico
    Member

    Araun,

    That sounds great! You've got some differing textures and pebbles to keep your feet adapting and yet you've got softer areas as well.

    I'm jealous :D I've yet to find a trail nearby that I can run on (most of the trails I've come across in my area are primarily crushed gravel).

    I've had a bit of a setback (mentioned in another post) so, I'm taking a week or two away from running and will be substituting trail walks on various surfaces to continue my pad conditioning.

    Overall, my mood is good though. I'm here for the long run (pun wholeheartedly intended :D ).

    Keep up the good work and definitely check back in with your experiences and thoughts.

    Kelly

    Posted 2 months ago #

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